


Damage

by Winterling42



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Missing Scene, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23030443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winterling42/pseuds/Winterling42
Summary: Beau and Fjord follow up on the Nein's conversation with Essek
Kudos: 52





	Damage

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes you just have to write things that will become non-canon hours after posting...enjoy the character introspection, I suppose

Beau was leaning against the railing of the Ball-Eater, thinking suspicious thoughts towards the illusioned drow heading away from the ship. Fjord came to stand next to her, arms crossed. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" 

"That we need to do some damage control?" Beau muttered, glancing quickly over her shoulder at the rest of the party. Caleb was standing near the hatch to the lower deck, his face pale in the pre-morning light. Veth was standing next to him, holding hands with Jester. Caduceus was slumped on the stairs to the poop deck, long limbs sprawling as he stared into the distance. Yasha was leaning on the wall next to him, her mismatched eyes shining out from under the storm-cloud of her makeup.

"I don't think we're on the right page, with our friend there." Fjord nodded towards Essek's retreating back, just as Beau lost him in the morning crowd. "I mean, sure we're not going let him get killed or anything, but he seems to be expecting us to clean up this mess." 

"Yeah." Beau smiled a smile that was more of a snarl and clenched both hands into fists. "Follow him?" 

"Not now." Fjord did that thing he did sometimes, when he slid seamlessly into giving commands and didn't notice. "Later. When we've got the ship to ourselves." 

***

Tracking down 'Lord Desren Thane' wasn't difficult. Oh, it was harder than it could have been--not well known in the Archways, most people had never heard of him, etc. But no match for Beau at her most determined, Fjord at his most charming. They left the others sleeping the day away at the Chateau and tracking down Essek, eventually, through his tailor. 

"You ever get a man in here, he's like, 'oh I need these _super_ fancy clothes' but like, he won't let you do the right measurements and he's like, super cagey about everything, and he says he lives around here but you've never seen him before. You ever see anyone like that?" 

The clothes were delivered to a small (for the Opal Archways) house on the outskirts of the district. Weirdly, it reminded Beau of the place they'd stayed in Rexxentrum, super posh and somehow completely impersonal. Sure there was a path through a formal garden, everything in perfect shape. And sure the facade of the house was glittering white even in the sea air, the windows visibly enchanted, but there was nothing _in_ those windows. 

They snuck in the back, of course. It was broad daylight, so Beau didn't think Essek would be wandering around the garden, but better safe than sorry. As expected, the kitchen and servants quarters were deserted--either Essek didn't plan to stay here long, or he just hadn't wanted the bother of staffing the place. She and Fjord looked at each other at the bottom of the stairs, waving their hands around and whispering. 

"You take the left half I take the right?" 

"Do you really want to split up? What if he teleports?" 

"Fuck, we're not planning on fighting him, right?" 

"I mean, hopefully not?" 

Eventually they went together. Most of the furniture was covered in white dust sheets, the rooms unlit. Beau wondered if the Cerberus Assembly had paid for this place, or if Essek had some money on his own, or if he was squatting in some Nicodranas noble's house. 

They found him in a study towards the back of the house. The dust clothes had been pinned up around the windows, clearing off a beautiful wooden desk and several bookshelves. Again, it was possible these had belonged to the original owner...but not if the number of titles Beau spotted in Undercommon were any indication. Absolutely typical wizard shit, teleporting boxes of books in to a strange house you were only planning on staying in for like a week. 

"Beauregard!" Essek turned in his chair, closing the book he'd been reading with a snap. "And Fjord, hello." He glanced over their shoulders as if expecting the others--he wasn't _disappointed_ , necessarily, but it did put some caution in his eyes, to see just the two of them. "I suppose I'm not surprised that you found me, but...could you not have Sent a message?" 

"This is more of a casual chat." Without asking, Beau grabbed a chair and pulled it across the stone floor, not bothering to take the dust sheet off. She sprawled across the armchair, leaning back like she wasn't ready to throw a punch with a second's warning. Fjord summoned his sword with a flash of light and cold, then set it point-down against the floor so he could lean on it. 

"Ah." Essek very slowly set his book down on the desk. "What can I help you with?"

"It's like this." Beau leaned forward. "There are people in our group that like, believe in you and shit." 

"Not that they trust you," Fjord chimed in, his eyes as cold as his sword. "But Jester might actually forgive you for what you've done." 

That hit home. Essek flinched away, pressed his lips closed on whatever retort he might have made. 

"And Caleb _n_ _eeds_ you to do this. Get it?" 

Still not looking at them, Essek nodded. "I assume this is not...a 'pep talk,' as it were?" 

"No." Fjord shifted his weight to the back of his feet. "This is us, specifically, saying that if you fuck this up, we'll kill you." 

Beau waved a hand to attract Essek's attention. "This is us saying that if there's a choice between you fucking up, and you dying, you'd better jump right into that death thing, man. You don't get to hurt them. Again." 

Essek took several slow, deep breaths. He put both hands flat on his knees, a nice gesture towards not wanting to blow them up. Finally he said, "I understand. And I agree. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. Any of you." There was a rawness in his voice, though his eyes were dark and clear when they met Beau's. The barest hints of a smile ghosted across his face. "Please believe that I am...at the end of what I am willing to give up. All I want is for this to end." 

Beau stood up, dusting off her pants and shaking her head. "It's never going to fucking do that, Essek," she said, and she was almost sympathetic. "You don't get to just forget this and move on." 

Fjord dismissed the sword and crossed his arms, already starting to step away. "We're not here to care about what you want, either. We're here to keep _them_ safe." 

"I understand," Essek said again, hollowly. And they left him there, staring at the dusty floor of a study that wasn't his, alone and in the dark.

**Author's Note:**

> come find me on tumblr at [critical-ramblings](https://www.critical-ramblings.tumblr.com)!


End file.
